Romance Challenge, HSM Style
by starlightmint
Summary: Total Troyella. Added bonus: I'm trying to make every single one of these the happiest romance oneshots ever... even the death theme!
1. Perfect

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or the cast or their related stuff.

**Author's Note: **So I'm back at FF after a bit of a hiatus. I had to finish my Zanessa story Start of Something New at another site because FF deleted it, but you can find the link to that story under my profile. Anyway, I can't stand the thought of writing another full length right now so I think it's one shots all the way for the next little while. And super happy romance ones, because I really tortured my characters in SOSN and I feel like I have to cleanse the palate before I get back to doing something like that again :)

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Perfect**

Straining up on her tiptoes, Gabriella peered into the upper window of the Boltons' front door. The house looked dark and still. Troy had said to meet him here at 8pm sharp, but she had tapped on the door three times and no one had answered.

"Troy?" she called softly. "Are you there?"

A light flickered on at the house next door and she cringed. _Great. Coach Bolton is really going to love me if I get arrested on his front steps. _She let out a sardonic laugh and angled her body over the side railing on the steps, trying to see in the living room window. _Some birthday present, Troy._

But she couldn't help but smile at the thought of his name. Earlier today, he had walked easily up to her at her locker and kissed her, right in front of everyone.

"Happy birthday," he whispered, grinning at her as she came up for air. His arms still held her close, and she hit him lightly on the shoulder, smiling. He knew she hated public displays of affection… and she knew he loved pushing her buttons. But looking into those blue eyes, it was hard to be angry at him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks," she said, grinning back and breaking their embrace to get her algebra homework out of her locker's top shelf. "And that's not bad as far as gifts go, Bolton."

He laughed. "Oh, you haven't even seen the start of it yet."

He leaned his arm against the locker next to hers and looked at her. "OK, birthday girl. Meet me at my house, eight o'clock. And don't be late. I have big plans." He pretended to explode something in his hands. "Huge."

"OK," she said, smiling.

He gave her an excited grin, then turned to walk away. And then suddenly, she saw him circling back. "Ohh…" she heard him say exasperatedly as he came back, wrapping his arms around her again. "You just make this so hard."

He leaned down, his lips meeting hers in another soft kiss. Her hands lifted softly into the hair at the nape of his neck and she could feel him sigh against her mouth. They broke apart and he kept her close, looking her in the eye. "OK. But that's it." He smiled. "Now eight o'clock. See you then."

And with that, he had walked away from her, turning to wave at her at the end of the hall and disappearing into his first class of the day. _Eight o'clock, _she had thought then, a grin on her face. _I can't wait._

Except… now she was waiting. On the cold front steps of the Bolton house. And looking down at her watch, it was already 8:11.

She dug in her purse and lifted out her cell phone. Turning to face the street, she leaned against the door as she called Troy's phone.

And then suddenly, the door fell open and she hurtled backward into the Boltons' front alcove.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!" she yelled, landing with a thump on the tiled floor. On her side, she heard another voice shout, "Aaaaahhhhhh!" In the darkened room, she could see the shadow of something hurtling toward her… and then something soft and warm landed with a splat on her face. She lifted her hand to touch it and it crumbled. It felt like… cake.

And then Troy was standing over her, a stunned expression on his face and an empty cake plate in his hand.

"Oh my God." He flicked on the lights and put the plate on the floor, grabbing her hands and lifting her to her feet. "Oh my God, Gabi, I am so sorry…"

He hurried her into the upstairs bathroom, turning on the sink taps and rushing away to get something. In the mirror above the sink, Gabriella could see she was wearing a French vanilla cake with a light cream frosting. Suddenly, Troy was back with a soft towel in his hands. But he slowed down, wary, when he realized she was looking at him.

Tentatively, he spoke. "What?"

She grinned. "It's a good look for me, don't you think?" She flipped a frosting stained lock of hair over her shoulder. "I thought I saw something in Vogue about gold and white being in this summer."

There was a silence, and then he broke into a laugh, handing her the towel and sitting on the top of the closed toilet while she cleaned up.

His voice sounded sheepish. "I feel like an idiot," he said, putting a hand on the back of his head and looking down at the floor. "I knew you were out on the steps, but Zeke was late with the cake. He came in the back door, and I was taking it to the front room to surprise you. But then you came in like that, and I tried to stop you from falling… but I forgot I was still holding the cake."

"Actually, you were just holding the cake plate," she said, wiping her face with the towel and turning to him. "I think I got most of the cake right here." She wagged the towel at him and leaned her hip on the sink.

He looked up at her. "Did it at least taste good?"

"Surprisingly, I didn't think about trying it," she laughed. "But Zeke's an expert, so I assume it was up to the usual standards.

But she could see he was looking down again, disappointment slumping his shoulders. _Oh, Troy._ "Ahhh, Gabi," he said dejectedly. "I kind of had this all planned out. I even got my parents out of the house and everything. It's your birthday, right. I wanted this whole night to be perfect."

"Hey." She dropped the towel on the sink, kneeling down and looking him in the eye. He seemed uncertain, but she smiled. "Troy… you planning all this, thinking about me this way. It _was _perfect."

He grinned at her, seeming happier this time. Then she lifted up on her knees, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. She felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her close. When they broke free, she gave him a teasing look.

"Like I said before, that's not bad as far as gifts go, Bolton." She laughed softly.

His eyes twinkled. "And I told you---you haven't even seen the start of it yet." And smiling, he leaned forward to her lips again.

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**Author's Note: **ZING! OK, that was so much fun. Gotta think about the rest of them now, like how I'm going to make that death theme a super happy fun romance story!


	2. Books

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author Note: **So, I should remind everyone that these oneshots are unrelated (unless some irresistible connection presents itself that I have to follow up on, which we'll take as it comes). This one takes place before Troy and Gabi have gotten together, which is a bit of a jump from their familiarity in the first oneshot.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Books**

Working with Taylor on an English group project had its plus sides, thought Gabriella. On the one hand, you knew you would get everything done well and done on time. But on the other hand, Taylor insisted that you needed to do the bulk of your research in the library during your free period on Thursday.

Gabriella had balked. "I kind of wanted to do some chem homework in the cafeteria." _It's where Troy spends his free period_, she thought.

But Taylor had looked at her blankly. "Gabriella. It's simple. Using free period maximizes our productivity. Otherwise we'd have to stay after school." And time-management and productivity were not things Taylor McKessie negotiated. Ever.

So grudgingly, Gabriella found herself searching through the library stacks with a sheet of scribbled call numbers in one hand and six heavy books in the other, hunting down the last secondary source on Romeo and Juliet that East High owned. Zeroing on her final target, her eyes scanned the numbers on the sides of the books … _820, 821, 822_... until she hit an empty space in the shelf where a pair of friendly blue eyes were suddenly looking at her.

"Hey," said Troy, grinning mischievously from the other side.

She jumped back, startled, then felt a secret thrill race through her as he came around the side of the bookshelf, loping easily in her direction. Inside, her heart began to pick up speed. _Wow, he's cute. _

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, grinning as he came near.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, smiling. "I thought you were usually in the cafeteria during free period. And you're a tough one to track down. I had to ask about ten people before I found one who'd seen you come in here."

She looked at him, feeling warm inside. "You were looking for me?"

"Well… I was just kind of in the neighborhood, yeah." A flush seemed to be rising on his neck, and he suddenly seemed nervous. "And… I just wanted to be sure you hadn't escaped this place without me knowing about it. Cause if I'm going down in that musical, you're definitely coming with me."

She laughed, shifting the books in her hands. "Well, I'm just looking for stuff for an English project, so maybe you could help." She waved her list. "There's just one left, and… hey, it's right there, if you don't mind grabbing it for me." She tried to indicate by nodding her head to the shelf behind him.

"Which one? This one?" He grabbed the book and put it on top of her stack. Then suddenly, a playful look overtook his face. "And you know, you might need this one too."

He grabbed another one and put it onto the pile. "Life Strategies by Dr Phil?" she said, laughing. Her arms sagged as more and more books began to arrive. "The Moosewood Cookbook? The… autobiography of Winston Churchill? NASCAR Racing for Dummies?"

"These are all very important books, Gabriella," Troy said in a serious voice. "I thought a scholar such as yourself would know."

But suddenly her arms buckled. The stack flew through the air and crashed on the floor. Ms. Falstaff appeared out of nowhere, and the stern look on her face deepened when she saw the scattered books.

"Mr. Bolton, Miss Montez," she said. "Library materials are to be respected. As is the quiet that other students may need for study while here." She looked at Troy pointedly. "Please keep your voices down and pick up those books. I don't want to have to throw either of you out of here."

Sending them another suspicious glance, the librarian moved off again. Then letting out a small sigh, Gabriella bent down and started to gather the books up. Troy dropped to his knees beside her and hurriedly began to help, separating the books he had chosen from the ones she needed. "Sorry, Gabi. I goof off sometimes. It just got out of hand. I didn't mean to drop them like that." He let out a breath. "It's just…"

He trailed off suddenly, his hand meeting Gabriella's as they both reached for the last book. She saw him let go as if burned and the book dropped to the floor.

"Troy." She looked at him seriously, scooping the book up again. "Are you OK? What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing…" Then suddenly he let out a breath and sat back against the shelves, looking her straight in the eye. "Ahh… you know what? It's you. You make me do all these weird things like pile books on you till you fall over. Just being around you… it kind of drives me crazy, you know?"

_What?_ She felt a blush blooming on her cheeks as he grinned at her. "Uh... I do?"

"Well… it's a good thing, I think." He shrugged. "Listen. You were right. There was a reason I came by the library. I was planning to ask you something today, and it kind of threw me when you weren't in the cafeteria." He looked at her hopefully. "There's a movie playing tomorrow night… and I was wondering… do you want to go?"

She smiled shyly, feeling warm all over. "You're… asking me out?"

"Yes. I mean, no." He started to turn red again. "I mean… only if you want me to."

But she grinned, picking up her pile of books and stood up. "I'd love to go to the movies with you, Troy."

A smile spread on his face. "That's… great."

They smiled at each other for a minute, then suddenly he got to his feet, scooping up the pile of random books he had chosen for her. "Now if you'll excuse me now, Miss Montez, I've got some reading to do."

Grinning, he started to reshelve the books. She waved, heading back to her table.

_Troy_. She sat down and Taylor looked up in the seat across from her.

"You look pretty happy." Taylor twirled her pen absently, looking down at the outline she had written on her clipboard. "So… did you get what you needed back there?"

Opening her notebook, Gabriella stole a glance back at Troy over Taylor's shoulder. He waved, and she smiled back, feeling giddy inside.

"Yeah, Taylor… I'm pretty sure I did."

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**Author's Note: **OK, I promise that Troy won't be dropping things in every oneshot. I just got stuck on writing about books and HAD to make it work somehow. I kind of feel the end was clunky on this one…. but no matter, I have big plans for the next one :)


	3. Dying to Know

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **These are all unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. Hope that's not too jarring for all you readers out there.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Dying to Know**

"Damn!"

On the court behind Troy's house, Chad groaned as the basketball bounced off the hoop's rim. Troy laughed, catching the ball as it rebounded and dribbling it next to him. Then suddenly he paused, holding the ball in his hands.

"Chad… is it lame that even when we hang out, we end up playing basketball?"

"No," said Chad, panting slightly. "What's lame is that I keep playing you even though I always get my butt handed to me." He walked over to the grass and lay down on his back in the hot sun. "When am I going to learn?"

"You do seem to be kind of a glutton for punishment." Troy grinned, sitting down next to his friend.

"A glutton for punishment?" Chad raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Since _when _did you start talking like that?" He looked at Troy suspiciously, and then turned quickly teasing. "Of course. It's Gabriella, isn't it?"

Troy looked away. "No way. Gabi and I… we're… just friends."

"Oh come on," said Chad, throwing his head back and guffawing. "You guys have been wrapped around each other since the day she showed up here. You must have gotten serious. Now spill, Bolton." He kicked Troy in the leg, putting on an exaggerated pleading tone. "Come on. I'm just _dying_ to know."

Troy shrugged. "Well…"

But with a sheepish grin on his face, he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. The whole relationship felt too fragile to be exposed to the world right now. There was also the fact that this—the whole relationship—had only just really gotten started yesterday.

He smiled at the memory. They'd just left Kelsi's house after practice, and he'd gone to walk her home, as usual. But this time, they'd stopped at the playground on the way. It was a warm summer night, and Gabriella had wanted to go on the swings. And he… well, he had just wanted to be with Gabriella.

He'd pushed gently on her back, sending her flying through the air, her long brown hair floating up in the breeze. Once or twice, she'd almost knocked him on his back as she swung overhead, whooping hysterically. Finally, she slowed down to a stop, grinning like a little kid. Her voice was giddy. "OK, it's your turn."

But he laughed. "You can fly enough for the both of us. I think I prefer to keep myself on solid ground here."

She turned around in the swing, swaying gently toward him."Oh, Bolton, you're not afraid again, are you?"

"Well, a little," he said. "I was never much of a swings kind of kid. Much preferred the slides. Or the monkey bars. Stuff with less chance of catapulting you into things."

She laughed, taking his hand lightly. _Wow—that's nice_, he thought, his heart starting to pound. "Well. You'll be safe here with me."

And suddenly something in her eyes made him start. Before he knew it, he took her other hand and lifted her out of the swing, standing her up close to him. And then her arms slipped around his waist, and his hands were moving in her soft hair as he met her lips in a kiss. Eyes closed, he drank her in deeply. _I've been waiting so long._

Then breaking apart, they had looked at each other… and then laughed.

She smiled, curling her hand around his neck easily. "I've been wondering when you were going to get around to that," she said. "We were so close after the championships… but you just never tried again."

He laughed, suddenly dizzy at the idea that she was his. "Well," he said. "You're kind of scary, and I'm easily intimidated. I mean, look at the whole swings thing."

She giggled. "Bolton, you wimp."

"See what I mean? You're terrifying. And you're terrorizing me. You're…" But he trailed off. Smiling, she had moved closer, leaning forward into him until he found himself falling helplessly in another kiss.

And then everything had become kind of a blur. One minute, they were friends… and the next, he was holding her hand as they walked up to her front steps.

And now Chad was throwing a basketball at him, trying to get him to talk.

"Come on, dude." Chad grinned. "I'm your best friend. You can't leave me in the dark."

Troy smiled. _Right now… I'm keeping this one all for myself_. "No way, man. I don't know what you're talking about."


	4. Late

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **These are all unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. Hope that's not too jarring for all you readers out there.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Late**

"Hey Gabi…"

Troy pushed the door to Gabriella's room and it swung wide open. Suddenly he heard a yelp and a flash of brown hair and white towel ran past. The door to her connected bathroom closed loudly and her voice rang out, muffled but indignant. "You're supposed to be waiting downstairs!"

He walked in and climbed onto the bed, grinning. "I know," he said, relaxing on her pillows. "I just thought I'd change things up a little bit for this date. You can't keep being predictable. I hear that's a killer for relationships."

"And so are boyfriends who barge in while their girlfriends are changing!"

"No way," he said. "That's what keeps relationships _alive._"

"Oh, get real, Bolton." Suddenly the door opened a crack and her arm poked out. "Now make yourself useful and pass me that dress on the bed."

He looked over and saw a green dress near the foot of the bed. Picking it up, he dangled it just out of her hand's reach, laughing as her hand snatched blindly in the air. Finally, she made contact with the hanger and grabbed it away forcefully. There was a rustling behind the door and suddenly it opened again, Gabriella stomping out.

And Troy looked over in wonder as she emerged. The green dress was perfectly fitted, revealing her delicate back and shoulders. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, falling in a softly curled cascade. And whatever she did with her makeup… she looked like the Gabriella he knew, but somehow brighter, better outlined---overwhelmingly beautiful. He lost his breath momentarily. _She looks gorgeous_.

But watching her now, he saw that Gabriella also looked… mad.

She slammed a brush down on top of her dresser after running it through her hair, then spun around and looked at him. "God, Troy! You're always _pushing _me. Just barging in here when you were supposed to stay downstairs."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, sitting on the bed in front of her and putting his hands in the air. "Gabriella. I'm sorry. I just thought it might be… funny."

"You're _always _just being so funny," she said. "I was just trying to get ready for this party. And now look at me." Her hands waved at her dress angrily. "I'm a mess."

He looked at her, incredulous. "Gabi… you're not a mess. You look… hot."

But she rolled her eyes, folding her arms. "Ahhh, you don't know anything. You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend."

"No, I'm serious." He reached out for her hand. "You look incredible. When you came out of that bathroom, it almost floored me how good you look. And believe me, when it comes to how beautiful you are, I do know a whole lot."

"Troy…" She looked away, but he could see a hint of a smile on her face.

She sighed. "OK. Look. I know you like to bug me. But… sometimes, you've got to respect my boundaries. I mean… I just like getting ready on my own." She let out a sheepish breath, her eyes looking away again. "I just... like making sure I look just right before you get to see me."

"Oh, Gabi…"

He pulled her close to him, lacing his arms around her hips and looking up at her. "You know you always look just right to me. In this dress. In what you wear to school." He wiggled her body from side to side with his arms. "When you wake up in the morning with bad breath and crazy hair. Whatever."

She rolled her eyes at him again. "Always so funny."

But this time, he could see she was definitely smiling. And then, suddenly she leaned down and kissed him, putting her arms around his shoulders. "Thanks," she said softly, as they broke apart.

He grinned, and then suddenly a mischievous look came over him. Swiftly, he leaned backward and pulled her back onto the bed, kissing her again with his arms wrapped tight against the soft skin on her back.

She broke free and looked at him in mock accusation. "Now what did I just tell you about boundaries, Bolton?"

He moved in, trailing kisses down her cheek, the side of her neck. "Montez, do you mind? I'm kind of busy here."

"Ahh… you're ruining my makeup. And… we're going to be late."

Her arms, however, were still wrapped around him tight. He grinned.

"Makeup, shmakeup. You still look hot." He moved back to her lips and kissed her again. "And the party'll go on all night. Let 'em wait just a bit."


	5. Something More

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **These are all unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. This one takes place pretty early in their relationship, probably after they've had their first kiss but before they're fully comfortable with each other yet.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Something More**

"I can't believe you just made me sit through Grease."

As the credits rolled on the TV, Gabriella turned to see Troy stare accusingly at her from the other end of the Boltons' sofa. Lying on his side, he poked her in the leg with his foot. She laughed, shrugging apologetically. "Well, I've never seen it. Taylor just lent it to me and said I might appreciate it. I didn't actually know there were so many parallels."

She giggled, poking him lightly back in the leg with her toes. "And give me a break, you totally liked it."

He let out a breath and looked at her. "Well, it was OK. But nothing I'm going to add to my home video library any time soon."

Gabriella laughed. "Yeah, right." She turned slightly to face him, hugging her knees to her chest and grinning. "You know though, I think our story has a better ending. I didn't have to dump my whole identity just to hang out with the guy I liked."

"No… but you also didn't get to wear a hot black outfit like Sandy did at the end."

She smacked his calf and he laughed, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Hey, Grease has got something more on that end of things," he said. "Even you have to admit that."

She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Well, it's too bad that _you_ couldn't be some hot guy who races roadsters and goes out for varsity track just to win my heart."

He looked over. "I'm sorry. Did you just question my hotness?"

"Oh, I did."

"Oh, man." His eyes twinkled. "That was the wrong thing to say. Wrong thing completely."

And suddenly he was reaching over to Gabriella, his fingers heading for her sides. She squealed, trying to writhe out of his grasp, sinking deeper on her back into the couch as he laughed. "Help, someone! Help!" she cried between giggles. "Some moderately attractive guy is trying to tickle me to death!"

"Oh, my God, you never stop!" His smile widened and he redoubled the tickling efforts. "Moderately attractive. Oh, I'll give you moderately attractive, Montez."

He tried to pin her arms down, pressing his weight down closer and closer. And suddenly, twisting and laughing, Gabriella found Troy's eyes just centimetres from hers. His hands froze and he stared at her, still smiling. "Hi," he said, his face flushed.

"Hi," she said back, breathless.

He seemed caught. And Gabriella did the only thing that felt natural next. Lifting her head, she put her lips to his.

Then she felt his arms move behind her back to hold her tight, and her arms slid up between his shoulder blades, pulling him close to her. His kiss was soft and filled with longing, sending a slow and satisfying thrill down her spine.

Then he broke free and grinned at her.

"Now. Are we ready to take back our vicious lies?"

She smiled up at him. "Well... if that's what you get for lying... I'm not so sure." But suddenly, her eyes flicked behind him and a look of horror flashed across her face. "Oh my God. I think your mom's coming down the stairs."

Immediately Troy sprang up off her, retreating to his side of the couch and putting his legs up on the coffee table. For a few minutes, he pretended to look interested in the credits list still running on the TV. Then, casually flicking his eyes to the side, he realized the lights on the stairs were still dark… and Gabriella had her hands pressed against her face, trying to suppress her rising giggles.

Between her fingers, she saw him groan in realization, his posture relaxing onto the sofa. Then he grinned playfully, crawling over to her and wrapping his arms around her again. "You're never going to stop, are you?"

Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him on the cheek, still smiling helplessly. "Nope… not as long as the rewards are this good."

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**Author's Note: **Man, that was fun to write. Shortest one yet too. And the Grease reference was just me wanting to be all meta-fiction-y. OK, now is it wrong that I kind of just want these two to make out all the time? Oh well, I don't know—I guess if it is wrong, I don't want to be right! Ha ha…


	6. Lie To Me

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **The oneshot previously here was about a HSM reunion, but I've gotten really into it and want to turn it into a full length story. So I've moved it off to a new story called Once and Again which you can find under my profile. There's a new chapter added to it already. The whole thing is rated M and thus won't necessarily show up on the HSM directory. And I seriously hope it doesn't get deleted for content. I've been through that. It's very sad when it happens.

And just so I don't violate the FF terms of service, I'm posting a new oneshot up here to go with the author note. I'm not entirely pleased with it but I have to put _something_ content-ish up. Then everybody can feel free to go read the other story – I probably won't be back to the oneshots until that one is done. So sorry!

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Lie to Me**

"Ahhhh…."

Sitting in the driver's seat, Gabriella let out a soft shout as the car shuddered and died. Beside her, Troy put his arm out over the steering wheel and stopped her.

"OK. I think that's enough for today."

"Noooo," she said, turning to look at him pleadingly. "Seriously. I want to drive my mom's car. I can learn standard. I want to keep going."

He laughed. "Well, I don't want you to keep going. I think you're going to destroy my transmission."

But suddenly his hand hit the dashboard as they took off again. She started, trying to lift her foot off the clutch at the right rate. They moved forward smoothly, and then the car began to jerk again, shaking them both in their seats before it died.

Gabriella put her head on the steering wheel and let out her breath. "I suck."

"Well," said Troy carefully. "You're doing better than earlier. We did glide along there for a good five seconds before things went downhill."

He laughed as she hit him on the shoulder. "Don't lie to me," she said dejectedly. "I suck. It's annoying. I can pick up everything else so easily."

"Ahhh…" He elbowed her. "Quit being so impatient. Sometimes it's not always that quick. Come on, let's switch. I'll take you home."

He got out of the passenger side and went around the front. And as she trudged defeatedly to the other side, he scooped her up in a bear hug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "It's tough. But you're up to it. Just give it a little time and you'll be racing through the streets of Albuquerque."

"Yeah, in my mom's Ford Contour." She rolled her eyes.

He put his forehead to hers, hugging her tighter. "Then think of it this way. Every time you have to learn to drive standard, you get to spend more time with your devastatingly attractive boyfriend."

She hit him again and he laughed. "Did I mention he's also fully tenderized, thanks to a certain brainiac?" he said, rubbing his arm.

She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "He brings it completely on himself." But she softened, kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for teaching me, though."

"That's more like it," he said. "OK, now get back in the car. I'll take you somewhere special before we call it a night."

In the car, she buckled her seatbelt. "Don't tell me that it's Makeout City again." She looked at him teasingly. "Because I know that's just your room with the lights turned on halfway."

"Hey, don't knock Makeout City," he said, starting the car and taking them out onto the road. "Only a chosen few ever get to visit. And they always leave with a smile."

She groaned. "You're right. I don't suck. You suck."

He parked. "That wounds me deeply, Gabi. Maybe you don't want any ice cream after all."

"Ice cream?"

And outside the window, she saw the bright colours of Albuquerque's finest ice cream parlour. She looked over at him, grinning. "Well... maybe you don't suck as much as I first thought."

He kissed her on the cheek then opened the car door. "Apology accepted."


	7. First Date

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **So, I'm back after finishing Once and Again, my Troyella reunion story. But weirdly (or maybe obviously), now I can't quite imagine the Challenge Troyella as separate from the reunion Troyella. So, for the most part, the next few oneshots will probably be very much like a prequel to O&A. And they might stay that way… but I don't know, let's see what happens!

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: First Date**

Trying to seem nonchalant, Troy ran over quickly to meet Gabriella as she arrived at her locker in the morning. Saturday had been their first date, and he had spent the rest of the weekend floating on air, waiting for Monday until he could finally see her again.

"Hey," he said, grinning as he leaned on the locker next to hers. "How was your weekend?"

But Gabriella simply sighed, occupied with cracking her lock. "OK," she said absently, opening the locker door and heaving her messenger bag inside. "How was yours?"

And startled at her tone, Troy suddenly he felt like he had crashed back down to earth. The whole weekend, he had thought she had been feeling just the way he was. It hadn't occurred to him that maybe… she wasn't.

Blinking, he tried to recover. _Don't mention the date._ "Uh… it was good," he said, as she sorted through her notebooks and checked her planner. "I watched the game on Sunday with Chad, did some homework. You know, the usual."

"The usual?"

She closed her locker door and he realized she was grinning at him. "Does that mean your Saturdays always include a hot date with a transfer student?"

_Montez_. Now he felt like he was glowing inside. A smile spread on his face as he ran to catch up with her walking down the hallway.

"Well," he said. "I can't lie to you. Transfer students are my weakness. The minute one shows up, I've got to take them to the movies."

She sent him a teasing glance as they turned the corner. "Do you share a banana split with all of them too?"

"Afraid so," he said, pretending to be serious. "The Russian exchange student, Mikhail? He found it pretty weird. But you know I'm all about follow through. I had to insist."

They reached her classroom and she turned to face him, laughing. "And did you try to kiss him outside his place at the end of the night?"

"Well, I tried," he said, grinning. "But he just wasn't that into me."

"That's good," she said, smiling. "Cause I'd hate to think I had competition on that end."

And before he could say anything, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, soft and quick. He blinked at her as they broke apart, his heart racing madly.

"Nope—no competition on that end, Montez," he breathed, staring at her intently. Then he grinned. "Although, there is a new kid from Chicago in town…"

She pushed his arm and laughed. "Oh, don't even think about it."

With that, she turned and walked into the classroom, waving as she sat down at her seat. He could see her mouth the words _See you at lunch_ as she shot one last look his way. Turning, he realized he felt like he was six inches off the ground again. And somehow, lunch had never sounded so good.

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**Author's Note**: Wow, this is short. I'm getting back into the swing of things though, so hope it suffices!


	8. Running

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Running**

Leaning on the balcony railing on the school's second floor, Gabriella let out a long sigh. Then suddenly, a familiar laugh came from her right, and she looked over to see Troy walking toward her.

"Control yourself, Montez," he said, grinning easily as he came to stand beside her. "You're way too excited for the last day of school. You'll freak out the freshmen."

She smiled at him, but her shoulders still seemed heavy. He nudged her gently. "You OK?"

"I don't know," she said, looking down. "It's all just kind of… sad."

"Why's that?" He leaned on the railing, looking at her sideways.

"Well, you know." She crossed her arms and leaned on the railing too, staring over it. "You get so used to coming here… and then it's all over. I mean, I won't get to see everyone every day. And there's no more musical, no more dances, no more studying."

He let out a laugh. "You're seriously going to miss the studying?"

"Well… kind of."

She smiled sheepishly. He rolled his eyes, grinning, then put an arm around her shoulders, kissing her on the top of the head. Unexpectedly, she felt the sadness ease.

"Look," he said. "I think you just need a change in perspective. Don't look at this as the end of school. It's the start of _summer_."

She looked up at him, a smile starting at the corner of her mouth. "Oh yeah? And what's so great about summer, Bolton?"

He looked at her playfully. "Well, the sun, for one. TV reruns. And you'll have lots and lots of free time, which you could spend studying, if you want." He grinned. "I'd even work you into my schedule from time to time, too."

She smiled, this time for real. "Oh, you would?"

"Well, I'll have to check with my secretary, but yeah, I think it's doable."

And she turned to him, laughing in spite of herself, the sadness completely gone. "OK, OK. So it's not all bad."

"Not at all, Montez." He smiled, pulling her close to him and kissing her quickly. "OK, so no more long faces. Let's plan to hit the ground running. Make this summer the best one ever. All right?"

She grinned, putting her arms around his neck. "Sure."

Then a mischievous look flashed across his face, and suddenly he had turned and bent low, grabbing her legs behind the knees and pulling her into a piggyback ride.

"Troy!" She laughed, hugging her arms around his chest. "Thanks for the warning, jerk."

Then she squealed as he raced down the stairs, squeezing her legs tight to him. "Take it as a hint, Montez," he said, going out the front doors to whirl her around in the warm sunshine. "This summer's going to be full of surprises."

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**Author's Note: **Hmmm… I thought this would be longer than the last one, but it's about the same size. OK readers, your turn to write: send me a review!


	9. Death

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note:** So, these are unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. In this one, Troy and Gabriella haven't gotten together yet.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Death**

It all started on Monday… right after Troy had _almost_ kissed Gabriella for the first time.

He had been sitting with her on a bench outside the school, talking as they waited for their rides after rehearsal. At a lull in their easy conversation, it suddenly felt just right to lean over toward her lips… and then, Ryan Evans appeared out of nowhere.

Letting out an exasperated breath, Ryan sat down hard next to Gabriella, making Troy jump back. Crossing his arms tightly, Ryan cursed loudly, oblivious to what he had just interrupted. "God… I just hate her sometimes!" he said.

And immediately, Gabriella turned to see what was the matter. Feeling slightly stunned, Troy swallowed hard and tried not to turn red as Ryan let it all spill out. It turned out that Sharpay had booked a commercial she had auditioned for yesterday… and she hadn't told Ryan about the auditions at all.

Ryan seemed on the edge of tears as he choked out the last part. "And the worst part is that she skipped last period to go… and she had me cover for her!" He put his head in his hands. "I just can't believe she would do something like this to me. I mean, my own twin sister!"

Gabriella's voice became sympathetic. "Ohhh, Ryan. I'm so sorry. That's really rough."

She was genuine. They all knew Sharpay often took advantage of him, and if Ryan was actually seeing the light… this might be the start of a big, painful step for him. And until her ride finally arrived, Gabriella kept going, trying to soothe Ryan's hurt feelings. "Well, you should let her know how you feel about it, Ryan. And if you need anything… don't be afraid to ask. I'm here for you. Troy is too."

Troy snapped to attention, lost in listening to Gabriella speak. "Oh.. yeah. For sure, Ryan. Whatever you need--we'll make it happen."

But little did he know that Ryan would take them up on the offer. And what he seemed to need was a new Sharpay to fill the void. Suddenly, no matter where Troy found Gabriella, there was Ryan, always ready to join them. During downtime at rehearsal… there was Ryan. During free period… there was Ryan. After school, waiting for the bus… Ryan again.

On the second day it happened, Troy discreetly leaned over to Gabriella during rehearsal, as Ryan went off to talk to Ms. Darbus about his lines.

"Don't you think Ryan's kind of hanging around a lot?" he asked.

Gabriella sighed. "Troy, cut him some slack. I talked to him on the phone last night, and this fight with Sharpay is really hard on him. He doesn't really have any other friends. I think he just needs our support right now."

That was tough to argue with. Troy swallowed his words and nodded dumbly, feeling a bit like a jerk. But for the rest of the week, it was hard not to think that a cruel joke was being played on him. He couldn't stay away from Gabriella… but it was agony not being able to talk to her like they used to. And the memory of the almost-kiss echoed in his mind over and over. She probably hadn't even noticed… how embarrassing.

But the worst part was that Ryan had become increasingly depressing as the week went on… and he dominated all conversation by constantly itemizing all the injustices Sharpay had ever caused him. Today at lunch, for example, he was discussing what Sharpay did to him when they were seven. Sitting between Troy and Gabriella at the table, he picked absently at his lunch tray and spoke in a whining, petulant tone.

"We got the same set of paint-by-numbers books from our aunt for Christmas that year," said Ryan. "But Sharpay spilled water all over hers, and then she wound up taking _my_ books as a replacement." His shoulders sank. "And I didn't even notice until a week later, when I finally wanted to paint. She'd finished all the pages in every book!"

Wincing inwardly, Troy nodded, trying to seem supportive as Ryan continued. But glancing casually around the table, he caught a glimpse of Ryan looking furtively up at Sharpay's table upstairs… and saw Gabriella let out a small sigh as she looked away from Ryan.

Without thinking, Troy kicked her foot under the table. She jumped slightly and her eyes clapped straight onto his. He could read the look in them loud and clear. _I'm so sorry about Ryan… but I just can't stand it anymore_, they said.

_So much for support_, he thought. And then suddenly, he felt like laughing out loud. The whole situation just seemed overwhelmingly hilarious. They had probably both been enduring Ryan's drone for the longest time, neither one willing to say anything to save face in front of the other. He ducked his head to hide his smile, and then felt a small kick at his foot under the table. Looking up, he saw Gabriella looking at him, her eyes wide. Putting her hand over her mouth to hide it from Ryan, she mouthed one word: _Help_.

And then he did laugh, almost uncontrollably, in a big, raucous burst. He could see Gabriella suddenly grin, and Ryan's eyes turned to him balefully. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," choked out Troy, trying to control himself. "Just a joke Gabriella told me earlier today."

"What joke?" Ryan's eyes darted between the two of them, looking frantic. "What?"

"It's nothing, Ryan," Gabriella said firmly, trying to hold back her smile and shooting Troy a warning look.

Troy nodded his head, smiling. "No, it's nothing," he said, then grabbed his lunch bag and stood up from the table. "But if you two will excuse me, I'll be right back. I've just got to get something."

"Don't take too long," said Gabriella, trying to mask her desperation with a casual tone.

He nearly laughed again, meeting her eyes with a warm look. "It'll only be a minute."

Then he turned away from them and headed up the stairs. On the top floor, he looked around until he saw a familiar blonde head. Walking over, he sat down at the table between Sharpay and Zeke. Sharpay smiled, but he could see that she was picking at her food in the same morose way as her brother.

"Hi guys," he said cheerfully. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much, captain," said Zeke, smiling. "Sharpay's just feeling a little under the weather. I made her some cupcakes, but even those aren't taking."

Sharpay looked at Zeke mournfully for a moment before turning back to her lunch tray.

"Well," said Troy. "That's kind of why I'm here. Sharpay—I think we've got something that belongs to you at our table down there."

She looked over the railing to see Ryan, who quickly pretended he hadn't been looking up at her. Letting out a sigh, Sharpay resumed picking at her food. "I don't know. I've tried, but he won't talk to me, even at home. I don't really know what to do." She shrugged. "He can just get so clingy, you know? I had to escape. He'd ruined the last three chances I had at a commercial. He interrupted my reading, got too fussy about the working conditions… It's kind of a nightmare sometimes."

_Don't I know it_, thought Troy. "Well… I don't know. He's pretty hurt. But if I'm not mistaken… I'm pretty sure he misses you."

She seemed to perk up. Glancing down at the other table, she saw Ryan look quickly away again. "You think?"

"Positive."

"But he won't talk to me."

"Well…" Troy thought for a minute. "How did you make up after you stole his paint by numbers books way back when?"

Zeke spluttered out a laugh. Sharpay shot Troy a look of blazing anger. "He told you that?"

"Uh, yeah." Troy grinned. Zeke laughed even harder, then let out a yelp, reaching down to rub his shin. Sharpay had kicked him hard under the table.

"You're ruthless, Sharpay," said Zeke, smiling. "But you know I like that about you."

Her face softened, and she laughed quietly. "Well… I got what I wanted, I guess." She paused, thinking. "Well… I guess I bought him some candy from the store and he cheered up pretty quickly."

"The cupcakes." Zeke grabbed the box on the table. "They've got extra frosting. Give them to him. Go!"

He tossed them to Sharpay, and before she could protest, Troy had grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs toward Gabriella's table. Ryan looked up, startled, but Troy started to speak before he could interrupt.

"Guys, we can all tell you're both miserable. But please. Sit down and talk it out." He glanced over at Gabriella. "I think you'll make all of us a lot happier if you do."

Ryan started to balk. "But…"

But Troy thrust Sharpay's arm forward, handing him the box of cupcakes. "Oh, and Sharpay got you something."

Ryan's face immediately softened as he opened the box. "Oh… they say 'Cheer up' on them."

And finally, he smiled at Sharpay as she sat down beside him. Then, as the two started to talk, Troy quietly backed up, grabbed Gabriella's hand, and raced away from the table.

They waited until they were safely into the hallway before the laughter began to pour out of them. But Troy kept running, pulling her out the front doors into the sunshine and stopping at the stone fountain in the courtyard.

"Oh my God," said Gabriella, doubling over with laughter. "When you left, he started talking about how Sharpay always steals his face cream from the bathroom. I was seriously thinking of slashing my wrists right there. Or his wrists. Whichever would have killed one of us faster, I guess."

She collapsed onto the sidewalk in front of the fountain, still laughing. "Oh man, they'd better work it out. I don't know how Sharpay does it. He was smothering me to death. Do you know he was calling to talk to me for like two hours every night?"

"Lucky you," said Troy, laughing and sitting down beside her.

"It was unbelievable," she said. "Imagine all that complaining—except without a buffer like you around." She shook her head. "Anyway, thanks so much for bringing Sharpay down. You totally saved my life."

He grinned. "Well, I would have done it sooner, but I thought we were supposed to be supportive."

"Yeah, well… so did I." She smiled guiltily at him. "I guess I didn't realize just how much support Ryan would need."

They both laughed, and then suddenly, there was a warm silence between them. He looked over at her, and she was looking back at him, smiling. And before he knew it, he had turned his body to face hers, his heart suddenly racing.

"Hey…" he said, his voice suddenly halting. "On Monday… just before all this Ryan stuff happened…"

She smiled. "You were going to kiss me out there on the bench."

He was shocked. "So… you knew?"

"I've kind of been thinking about it all week." She laughed softly. "It's sort of… one of the reasons I couldn't wait to get away from Ryan by the end of it."

And gently, she put her arms around his neck and smiled at him, making him suddenly happier and more hopeful than he had ever been in his entire life. Then carefully, he slid his arms tightly around her waist, and drew her close into a soft, sweet kiss.

He grinned at her as they broke apart, but he could see a look cross her face. She appeared to be listening hard for something.

"What?" he asked.

She looked at him playfully. "I think you did it. I don't hear Ryan coming." Then she grinned. "But just in case… we should probably do that again."

He laughed, hugging her tightly, and then leaned in for another kiss. And when they broke free, he smiled mischievously. "For safety's sake… let's do it one more time."

She laughed as he closed the space between them again. "Hey, let's make it twice," she said, smiling. "Just to be sure."

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**Author's Note:** Yay, it's longer! Much longer. Read and review, please!

_Added note_: So there's been a couple of questions about where the death is in the story. It's the "smothering to death" bit and all the death imagery used in the middle there. Subtle, I know! But it's tough writing a happy oneshot about death without really killing someone!


	10. Shy

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note:** So, these are unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. This one is probably around the period that Something More was set in: probably after their first kiss, but before they're fully comfortable with each other.

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Shy**

As Gabriella returned from the kitchen with her glass of water, Troy looked up slightly from the desk in his room. He was busy working on his section of their ecology project, but as she sat down beside him, he could tell something was up.

He stopped writing and looked at her sideways. "Hey," he said. "Everything OK?"

He touched her shoulder lightly, but she flinched away. "I'm fine," she said, a little too quickly.

"Seriously?" he said. She nodded, not looking at him, focused only on her notes.

He felt skeptical, but didn't push it. Instead, he turned back to his papers, examining the diagram he had just drawn. Realizing it was slightly skewed, he sighed and reached for his eraser. But his hand suddenly brushed hers, reaching for the same thing. And she flinched again as if horrified, dropping her hand quickly back into her lap.

He put his pencil down. "OK," he said. "I don't know what it is, but there's definitely something up." He looked at her. "Ever since you got that glass of water, you seem kind of… shy."

There was a silence, and then he heard her let out a breath. "Well... yeah." She paused, then looked up at him tentatively. "I kind of… ran into your mom down there."

Suddenly he felt tense. "What happened?"

She turned red and looked away again. "Well, this is going to sound dumb," she said. "But she asked what we were working on. And I said homework in your room, because we needed the computer… but even as I said it, I just turned bright red. Kind of like I am now."

She looked at him and laughed at herself, putting an elbow on the desk and her head in her hand. "I mean, it was the truth! And she was so nice, but I still felt like she thought I was lying or something. Like we were up here just … up to no good or something." She dropped her voice at the words _no good_, then laughed again. "I grinned really stupidly then just made a break for it. Like I didn't feel guilty enough already."

He could tell she was feeling better after saying it. She threw her hands up in the air blithely, and he grinned back, laughing with her. "Well… you shouldn't feel too guilty," he said. "We are really just working on homework. And here's something to take your mind off it." He rubbed his page with the eraser, then handed it to her, smiling. "This is all yours."

But his hand brushed hers again as he gave the eraser to her. And this time, he felt himself flinch back, suddenly awkward at what his mother thought they were up to… and the softness of Gabriella's skin.

"So now who's shy?" Gabriella asked, raising her eyebrows.

He laughed, feeling embarrassed. "Well… now you've got me thinking how we might be up to no good."

She looked at him. "But we aren't."

He gave her a sly look. "But… we could be."

"But your mom…"

"She'll have to wait her turn," he said, grinning. "I saw you first."

And turning in his chair, he leaned close and kissed her, his hands moving to curve lightly around the sides of her waist. Her lips met his eagerly, and he was surprised to find her body leaning into his as the kiss deepened.

And as they broke apart, Gabriella almost fell off her chair, leaning so far toward Troy. He caught her and she laughed, moving her chair closer to his and sitting down.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'll tell you what's funny." She kissed him quickly and grinned. "Now that we are up to no good… I don't feel guilty at all."

He laughed. "Not even about the ecology project you're abandoning?"

She kissed him again, soft and slow, then laughed. "Sorry, Bolton. Not at all."


	11. Knight

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note:** So, these are unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted.

Also, I've started a sequel to Once & Again called All the Right Moves. You can find that story under my profile. This of course means I won't be back to the oneshots until that story is done (unless for some reason I feel like writing a light confection in the midst of it, which I might!).

Anyway, enjoy the oneshot!

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Knight**

Standing in line at the Dairy Queen, Gabriella gave Troy a stern look. They had come for a treat on one of Albuquerque's hottest days, the sun scorching down on the city through the clear blue sky. But in the lineup, things had suddenly become frosty between the two of them.

"Seriously," she said. "You've got to quit trying to save me all the time."

He stared back at her, frowning slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Like that thing with your dad earlier. You know, how he came in when we were in the kitchen, and you kept trying to make him talk to me somehow."

Troy turned slightly red. "I was trying to help you guys get along."

She crossed her arms. "Well, it's OK if he doesn't want to talk to me all the time. And I'm a big girl. I can figure it out with him on my own."

"Well, thanks for that, but it's awkward as hell for me," he said, half-spitefully. "So I'm just trying to make it easier on everyone involved."

She looked away. "Well, fine," she said. "But that's not the only time. Like yesterday, when we were at the movies and they didn't give me the right change. You totally stepped in when you know I could have handled that."

"But…"

"But what?" she said, letting out a breath. "Look, Troy. I know you're trying to help. But I don't like feeling like some spineless princess, who needs to be protected by a knight in shining armor all the time." She rolled her eyes. "I can fight my own battles. And a lot of the time, I want to."

He was silent. The line moved and they shuffled forward slightly, not looking at each other. And after a minute, he turned back to her, studying her face seriously.

"Okay," he said grudgingly.

"Okay?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

He crossed his arms. "It means okay, you should fight your own battles sometimes."

"Okay," she said, slightly surprised.

He stared at her for a minute, and suddenly let out a breath. "I know you're right. I just can't help it, you know? I always feel like I should step in whenever you're in trouble. However small it might be. I just… don't like you having a hard time."

She felt herself soften instantly. "Well… that's sweet." Looking away, she bumped him with her hip good-naturedly. "Thanks."

He bumped her back and grinned. "But I'll leave you alone the next time something does come up," he said. "I promise."

Suddenly they were at the front of the line. He ordered a Blizzard, and Gabriella put her hand out when he reached for his pocket.

"This'll be my treat," she said, smiling at him. "I'll get one too."

The cashier rang it up. "That'll be $8.11, please."

Smiling at Troy, she felt in her purse for her wallet… and suddenly realized it wasn't there.

Heart beating fast, she put the purse on the counter and began to scrabble madly through it. Behind her, she could hear the lineup become fidgety. And as her fingers scraped the bottom of the purse, a frantic panic began to take over. She dropped her hands suddenly. She had changed bags at home earlier… her wallet must be in the other purse.

Then suddenly, a throat cleared. And discreetly, she felt something being pressed into her hand. Looking down, she saw a ten-dollar bill. And looking up, she saw Troy looking away innocently, trying to mask a smile on his face.

She felt herself turn a deep red as she paid. And turning, she smiled sheepishly and handed him his change. "Thanks for the save."

He grinned back, scooping up his ice cream and bumping her on the hip again as they walked out to the car. "Hey, I'm always here if you need me, princess."

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**Read and review!**


	12. Secret

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note:** Why, look who's back :) Okay, this is just another first kiss fic. Can't get enough of those!

_Written October 15, 2006_

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Secret**

Since it happened, she had been playing the whole thing over and over in the back of her head. On the roof garden bench, she could remember how he smiled, how warm his body felt as he leaned in so close… and how she turned her head at the very last second.

And then the bell had rung and she had leaped up, a smile frozen on her face, and then she had found a way to avoid him for the rest of the day, and the next. And it was stupid, she knew, but she planned on possibly avoiding him forever… until, as she hid at a desk in the library during free period, he pulled up a chair beside her and grinned.

"So this is where you've been hiding all this week," he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands. "I can see why you like it. Quiet, peaceful."

"Well, it was," she said, casually trying to angle her body so she couldn't look directly at him.

He laughed. "Yeah, well. All good things come to an end eventually, Montez." But then he paused, and his voice became more restrained. "Listen… I'll be out of your way in a second, really. I just thought I'd come by to say hi. We haven't talked since Monday."

_Since we almost kissed_.

"I mean," he said, and his voice started to fumble. "I didn't—I wasn't trying to… push you into anything. It was just that we were up on the roof garden, and you were just so close…"

And she realized that instead of busting her on her erratic behaviour, he was _apologizing_ for the kiss. And as he kept talking, sounding more and more regretful, something inside her began to struggle and jump up. _Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT. _

"Troy, don't," she blurted out. "Just don't. It wasn't… you didn't push me into anything. I wanted to. I just… didn't."

He blinked sharply. "Okay—what?"

Her cheeks were burning, but she was already too far in to turn back. "Look. Just… please don't think I'm an idiot."

She could hear him take a breath. "I won't," he said softly.

And staring at her papers in desperation, she spit it out. "I've just… never been kissed before."

"What?"

She groaned. "Please tell me you don't mean that literally. I really don't want to say it again."

"No, I heard you," he said, smiling. "I just… I was surprised, that's all."

She put her head on her desk and laughed bitterly. "Surprised at what? Freaky math girl, remember? It's not as if the guys were beating down my door." She sighed. "I don't know. I just kind of freaked on Monday, when it was going to happen. I mean, I wanted to… but my brain wouldn't stop thinking about what was happening. I jumped. So… I'm sorry."

"No... it's okay."

Her face still flamed red, but as she glanced over at him, she saw he was smiling gently. And somehow, she felt instantly comfortable, as though everything had been settled… and a window of opportunity was opening again.

And then suddenly, the bell rang.

She let out a sigh and grabbed her books up from the table, packing them into her bag and throwing him an apologetic glance. But as she hurried toward the door, she felt the touch of his hand on her wrist and found herself being pulled behind one of the shelves.

And as she turned, his hand moved from her wrist to her waist, pulling her close to the familiar warmth of his body. "Now don't think," he whispered, leaning down before she could avoid him, an electric thrill racing through her at the soft touch of his lips. And without thinking, she found herself deepening the kiss, her hands reaching up to press him closer.

When they finally came up for air, he blinked at her in surprise.

"Not bad for your first time, Montez," he said, grinning.

She grinned back, breathless. "Not bad?" she said. "Well, I guess I'll just have to keep practicing then." And they both laughed as she wrapped her arms warmly around his neck, pulling him close to her again.


	13. Distraction

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note:** So, these are unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted.

Further, for those following along with my other stories, I've started a sequel to Once & Again and All the Right Moves. It's called Slips & Tangles. You can find that story under my profile. Again, this of course means I won't be back to the oneshots until that story is done. So, I hope you enjoy this one in the meantime!

_Written November 18, 2006_

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**HSM Romance Challenge**

**Theme: Distraction**

When she saw him next, he was standing on her front step. He had rung the doorbell and she had answered it, not realizing it was him.

"Hey," she said, first startled, then shy. "I thought we weren't going to see each other…"

"We aren't," he said stiffly. "I'm here to see your mom, actually."

"My… mom?"

But her mother was already there, coming up from behind. "Hi Troy!"

He swept past Gabriella and shook her mom's hand, the both of them going together into the kitchen. She closed the door and walked haltingly to the stairs, half-wanting to go back to studying and ignore him, half-wanting to follow them to find out everything. Instead she wound up frozen on the third step, her hand on the banister, straining to overhear.

"… so the lawn… that's $30 every two weeks…"

"… I do other gardening and trimming too… whatever you need…"

"… okay… okay… that sounds fine…"

And then she scrambled up the stairs as she heard them coming back, Troy bidding her mother a firm goodbye and the door closing behind him.

There was a pause, and then she heard her mother's voice.

"He's just going to be cutting the lawn, Gabi. It'll only be once a week for the whole summer. So… you won't really have to see him."

"Mom… why did you have to pick… him?"

Her mother sighed. "I didn't have much of a choice. It was him or the Farbers' kid. And you know the Farbers' kid… he's just so…"

"No, you were right." Gabriella let out a breath. "It's okay. Troy was the right choice."

---------------------------------

She tried to stay away from the windows when he came to do the lawn the next day.

It was odd, avoiding him like this. She remembered being excited to see him, wanting to see him every moment of every day. Faint traces of the feeling still echoed through her body, but she did her best to shake it off.

It couldn't have lasted, she told herself. She had gotten into the advanced college math classes this summer. She knew she needed to concentrate. But she felt so guilty, spending all her time studying and then just seeing him maybe one night a week—if that.

And then the guilt began to seep into every space in her mind, every fragment of her actions, until she could hardly be with him anymore. She could only think that him being with her was not really being with her at all. It wasn't worth it, seeing her once a week, and even then only for a few hours at a time, before she had to go to bed or get back to studying or class or whatever. And the only way to fix it… was to let him go.

So she did. She said it was unfair to him. And as for her… he was a distraction, and what she needed was clear focus to do well.

He had been angry, and then he had been sad, and he had said, if this is what you want, then okay, that's what he would do. If this is what you really want.

She said yes.

And now she was trying to avoid the windows.

But studying at the desk in her room, the full-length mirror had tilted on its axis, and looking up she caught a flash of him on the edge of the lawn. He sat with his shirt off, staring at the grass in fatigue, his skin as brown as a farm egg.

Immediately she got up and moved the mirror until it was straight, trying to forget what she had seen. This was harder to do than she thought.

---------------------------------

The next week, she kept away from the windows again. But she found herself acting strangely, "accidentally" tilting the mirror until she caught a glimpse of him again. And then, even more strangely, instead of working she watched him cycle in and out of the mirror's range. The flash of brown skin, and his muscular frame pushing the lawnmower, forwards and backwards.

Suddenly she heard the mower cut out sharply. He was out of range of the mirror. Her heart jumping up, she ran to the balcony to see what had happened… and saw him standing near the walk, glancing up at her sudden appearance.

"Hi," she said lamely. "I was just… I heard the mower…"

"I'm almost done," he said. "I'll be gone in a bit."

"No… I'm not trying to rush you. I was just…." Her mind raced. "I was just… going to make some lemonade. I wanted to know if you wanted some too."

"Lemonade?" He looked at her.

Her cheeks were flaming, but she charged ahead anyway. "Yeah, you know. Lemons, water, sugar. Or lemonade mix and water, which is probably more likely. And… ice."

He smiled. "Well… okay."

And with a wave, she found herself back in the house, heading for the stairs, making a jug of lemonade in the kitchen and going out onto the front lawn with a tray. He turned off the mower and carefully walked over to meet her, and she found herself shaking slightly as he came near.

But it was easier than she thought it would be. They sat on the freshly cut lawn in the sunshine, drinking the lemonade and talking lightly. He told her a little about the other lawns he was cutting, and she found herself teasing him about the details: the kitten who chased him on the third lawn, the sprinkler he ran over on the fourth. He laughed good-naturedly and stretched out next to her, and suddenly her mind went blank at the curve of his arms, the shape of his chest. And then he spoke just as her words fell away.

"You know," he said, looking at his glass of lemonade. "Didn't you promise me ice in this drink?"

"Oh." Her tongue felt thick. "I suppose I forgot."

He finished the drink and put the glass down. "Next week, there'd better be ice, Montez."

Next week?

But before she could protest, he was already walking away.

---------------------------------

There was ice the next week. And the next. And even the next. She found herself starting to look forward to him coming over each time, thinking of new things to tell him about her classes, her work. She liked making him laugh, liked the way he laughed, liked the way he made her laugh. This time, she made the lemonade with real lemons as a surprise, and went out on the step early. Maybe he could take a break twice, this time.

But an hour went by and he hadn't turned up yet. And another hour went by and he still hadn't come. She went back to studying, pretending not to notice, but could only half-concentrate. She thought of calling, but it felt awkward—it wouldn't make any sense, it would make their relationship seem deeper than it really was.

Then another hour went by and she stopped being able to focus on studying entirely. And instead she got on her bike, figuring she could go by his place, casually see if he was there, and come home.

He wasn't there. But riding down the block, she suddenly heard the familiar buzz of the mower, and saw him on a different lawn. A strange sense of relief washed over her, but before she could escape notice, she heard the mower cut out.

He waved and she rode closer. "Hey," he said, wiping himself down with the t-shirt he had thrown to the ground. "Aren't you supposed to be studying?"

She put a foot on the sidewalk and looked at him. "Aren't you supposed to be mowing our lawn?"

"I told your mom. The Wilkins's needed their lawn mowed early for a garden party they're having. So I just switched it up."

"Oh," she said, feeling like an idiot. "I guess she didn't tell me."

He looked at her with concern. "But are you okay? What are you doing all the way out here? Did you need something?"

"Well…"

And before she could stop, it came spilling out.

"I just… made the lemonade," she stuttered, her face turning red. "And I waited… and I waited… but I guess I missed you."

There was a sudden softness in his eyes. "You… missed me?"

Saying it again, she felt something tremble and fall inside. "I… missed you."

Then she was suddenly reaching for him, her hands on the warm skin of his shoulders as she leaned up to kiss him. And she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her close, as if he would never let go.

And then suddenly they sprang apart as her bike fell to the ground, and they both laughed until finally he pulled her close and kissed her again. And as he held her tight in his arms, she felt him lean down to whisper in her ear. "I thought you didn't need a distraction," he said.

"I don't," she said softly, resting her head against his chest. "But I guess I've got one anyway."

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**Author Note**: Um… I kind of got carried away with this one. But oh well, it's all right anyway, I think.


End file.
